Saturday, September 10, 2011

Edi's Weekend Wave #1137

Hello and welcome to issue #37 of Edi's Weekend Wave.It seems there are things which will never change until I retire from work. I will have a few days off, which is great. But the last two days before have been extraordinary exhausting. I worked around 23 hours on these two days. To be honest I don't mind to work but why do people think you should finish all the tasks before you leave for a few days. I think you can imagine that i have been really tired in the evening which lead to the result that I neither read nor checked my mails nor did anything for the blog. My Google reader exploded. Today I feel refreshed after a long sleep. Will see how long it will take to finish this post. And now

ENJOY READING ....

Edi's Guidepost

The LighthouseNews and information straight from the horse's mouth by Lighthouse keeper ediFanoB

QuotesThe member of the house of quotes and a quote himself the Keeper of the minutes ( we call him Kotm) fished for you

German proverbs, sayings and idioms Random quotes

The Lighthouse

Even I could not read on two days I read 494 pages in five days and finished two books! I hope to read more within the next week. Am I weakening? Only three books parallel!!

I finished

- King's Envoy by Cas PeaceI wrote on GOODREAdS:"A great start of a fantasy series which is in part predictable but that does not matter when you follow loveable characters full of emotions. An adventure in a world with magic. A good mix of action, dialogue and inner thoughts.I look forward to read the next book after the cliffhanger ending of book one."

- VARANGIAN: The Stone of Babylon by Sabine Atkins.I wrote on GOODREADS:"I started as a mix of history and fantasy and turned into something different which I can't tell you without giving away too much of the story. Edric is a fascinating character. The story is well done and I can't wait to see how the story will continue. Great debut. Well done Sabine Atkins. You have a new fan." Dear Sabine Atkins I do my best to finish my review of VARANGIAN: The Stone of Babylon as soon as possible!

I'm

- 381 pages in A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin.Means I read 75 pages last week. That means I picked up pace.I like some of the prophecies in the book like Jon Snow will meet again Arya Stark.I can't wait to read how George R.R. Martin will manage it.

- 248 pages in Honour and the Sword by A L BerridgeThe more I read the more I must confess that the title of the book fits perfectly to the story.But I think it is difficult for nowadays reader to fathom the importance and value of honour in the 17th century

The number of books I receive in PDF and/or EPUB format is increasing. So far I read eBooks on my laptop which is not really convenient for longer reading sessions. Even I know I can't spend money for an eBook reader I started to think about it. First of all I noticed that not all world wide available eBook readers are also available in Germany. That is the first restriction I have to cope with. Of course I need to think about the price. Beside that I have to find out which formats I need and I have to think about if I want to buy eBooks and where. Fortunately I'm not under pressure as I can't afford a reader within 2011.Anyway publishers go into new directions and eBooks will play an important role. Later on I will show you an example.

Enjoy your weekend ....

Books

Dear readers, I'm the one to tell you about books - only books? What about novellas and other stuff? My name is Bona. I scour shelves, shops and the net for books. If you call me a book whore I would not gainsay you. But be aware I have my own, sometimes elusive taste.

Do you take part in giveaways? I love book giveaways. Sometimes they are combined with riddles which is even better. End of August I took part in a competition by Rosalie Skinner, author of Exiled: Autumn's Peril. I posted about it.To my surprise I won a set of magnets (will show them as soon as I get them) and an eBook which I could choose from a list. And that is the book I went for:Rast (eBook, 2011) [Smashwords] by Christopher Hoare.

"Imagine the worst possible time, the interregnum while rebelling magic forces slowly kill the reigning Drogar. Prince Egon has to take up the succession as the new sorcerer_king of Rast, and admit the deadly magic into himself in a manner he can control.Yet Offrangs arrive on the coast, imperialists whose power comes from steam and iron, and who disbelieve in magic. Commander Antar seeks to conquer Rast. Egon has no time for caution, he must act at once.He also has to help Jady, Guardian of the Silent Forest, escape from the evil Deepning Pools whose resurgence she has thwarted. Even more troubling, he must send his sweetheart away, for she is not from the magic lineage who can bear him an heir. She goes to meet the Princess destined to supplant her, with anger in her heart.The oracle given by the Pythian, living beneath the Palace of Rast, predicts the crisis can only be resolved by everyone’s efforts – even the actions of enemies – until the Prince is established securely and able to turn the magic’s fury upon itself.Conflict between materialists and a magic based society; between love and ambition; between magic forces residing within the world itself and the one man destined to control them. Rast leads fantasy into new dimensions." [Source]

The setting reminded me partially of the old PC game Arcanum. Finally I say thank you to Christopher Hoare because he sent me additionally the Guide to Rastwhich contains a lot of information and explanation.

In spring 2011 I read The Martian Ambassador (pb, 2011) [ISBN-13: 978-1907777-080] by Alan Baker, the first in the Blackwood & Harrington Mystery series. I liked it a lot. Therefore I ordered the second book, in advance. It has been delivered last week.

"LONDON, 1899Something strange is happening on the London Underground. The ghosts which haunt the platforms and tunnels are being seen much more frequently than usual, and it seems that they have become angry and frightened for some reason. There is, apparently, something on the network of which even the dead are afraid, and the train drivers and other staff are becoming increasingly reluctant to work there. The new atmospheric railway is being installed, and the railway companies are demanding that the mystery be solved before their investments go up in a puff of steam. When a train driver named Alfie Morgan is driven insane by something indescribable in the remote section of the network known as the Kennington Loop, Queen Victoria instructs her Bureau of Clandestine Affairs to investigate.Enter Thomas Blackwood, Special Investigator, and Lady Sophia Harrington, Secretary of the Society for Psychical Research. Along with Detective Gerhard de Chardin of the Metropolitan Templar Police and the famous occultist Simon Castaigne, Blackwood and Sophia plunge into a terrifying adventure which takes them from the dank tunnels of the London Underground to the depths of interstellar space and a dying planet known as Carcosa, where a horrific being from beyond the ordered universe has set its sights on Earth. The being is known as the King in Yellow, or the Feaster from the Stars, and unless Blackwood and Sophia can prevail, it will descend upon the Earth and consume every living thing upon it!" [Source]

I'm sorry, I could no find the cover in another format. The book contains a sneak peek from The Gods of Atlantis which will be the next book in the Blackwood & Harrington Mystery series.

"When the brilliant young engineer Taziri Ohana survives a devastating attack on the Air Corps, she is the only pilot left to chase the criminals responsible across the skies of Morocco. While helping the police to investigate, Taziri uncovers a vast conspiracy of deposed aristocrats and wealthy industrialists plotting to overthrow the Queen and plunge the country into war.With assassins stalking the streets and riots on every street corner, Taziri quickly learns to defend herself as only an engineer can – by inventing electrical tools and weapons from whatever is at hand! But the country’s only hope for survival may be a visiting Incan princess, a dashing Spanish fencer, and Taziri’s airship Halcyon plummeting out of the burning sky." [Source]

In order to download a copy of the book for free go to this Smashwords site and scroll down to the Available Ebook reading formats section. Select your format and start the download. That's all!!

Hopefully the new book will be available in a format which I can read without an eBook reader.

A few weeks ago I posted about the upcoming novel Daughter of Smoke and Bones (pb, September 2011] [ISBN-13: 978-0316199025] by Laini Taylor.Now the third trailer is available. Here we go:

Regularly readers will know that I have a special relationship to Stephen Zimmer. He is an incredibly busy man - just read THIS POST - and beside all the things he is working on, he is also the author of two fantasy series: Fires in Eden and The Rising Dawn Saga. For detailed information about both series please read THIS POST. Today I present you a new trailer for The Seventh Throne which is the third book in the The Rising Dawn Saga.

In April 2011 Stephen surprised me with a copy of Redheart (April 19th, 2011) [ISBN-13: 978-0983108672] by Jackie Gambler which is book one of The Leland Dragon Series.Normally I don't read read books with tags like YA and dragons. But in case of Redheart I'm glad I did it. I really liked it (a review is in progress). Today I present you a new book trailer.

No more today, see you next week ......

Blogosphere

Hey, I'm Bona Fide. I just came back from my last foray through the blogosphere. What can you expect from me? I tell you: Everything from Art to Fart as long as there is any faint connection to books. And here is some honey from the beehive blogosphere...

"Ever wanted to read something different but didn’t want the world to judge you by the cover of the book?[...]The revolution in eReaders gives you, the reader, the freedom to read whatever you want – fantasy, science-fiction, horror, urban fantasy, Steampunk, historical action, ANYTHING. They’re perfect to explore genre fiction you never knew even existed!The READ ANYTHING campaign from Solaris and Abaddon Books aims to do away with judging a book, or rather its reader, by its cover. At last, content shall be king with whole new worlds of genre publishing opening up to readers.[...]Solaris and Abaddon don’t just release eBooks – we want to provide new and exciting material for readers. Both imprints will:• publish every new book as an eBook on multiple platforms on the same day as it sees prints• publish the first chapter of every new book online, for free, ahead of publication• publish selected future titles exclusively as eBooks• introduce new ways to share eBooks with your friends and family.

“The world of genre fiction is as rich and rewarding as anything produced by the publishers of ‘literature’,” says Jonathan Oliver, editor-in-chief of both Solaris and Abaddon Books. “At Solaris and Abaddon we are committed to providing great fiction in a format to suit the reader. Now with the READ ANYTHING campaign you can jump into the world of genre without worrying what your fellow commuters will think.” "

I really look forward and try to keep you informed. I hope the multiple platforms will give my the possibility to read these eBooks on my laptop.

Steampunk is on everyone's lip. Books, movies, music, fashion, furniture, ... everywhere you find steampunk influence. I like it when I get examples which give me an impression. I found following video which I would like to share with you:

Hey, it's me Fide. I'm a remote control professional. I'm that fast that I can watch two movies at the same time.But don't worry. All the stuff I present to you will be shown at normal speed.

Do you remember all the entertaining silent films? The Gold Rush starring Charlie Chaplin is a great example. The introduction of the sound film turned the careers of several silent film stars upside down. The French movie The Artist shows the rise and fall of a silent film star and is a silent film itself. Watch the trailer to get an impression. I like the trailer a lot and I hope I will get the opportunity to see the whole film.

That's all for today. See you next time....

Games

Hey, it's me ediFanoB. Against all odds I play games. Once a while I will talk about games I like.

I'm sorry, I neither had the time to continue to play Oblivion nor the time to look for other games.

That's it for now. See you when I have time ....

QuotesI 'm the Keeper of the minutes. But I don't mind when you call me Kotm. No, no. I don't explain to you how to pronounce.

I ran out of time. Luckily I found following random quotes for you ...

"The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.”H. L. Mencken, US editor (1880 - 1956)

2 comments:

You know how I feel about my iPad. (And it's one step short of replacing my laptop.) And I have apps for other eReaders, such as Nook and Kindle, so I can get eBook in any format. I've also discovered I read more now, since I can bump up the font size when my eyes are tired.I think once you get an eReader, you'll really enjoy it.

@Alex,so far I can't imagine to replace my laptop.Yesterday I talked with my wife about eReaders and she is also interested in to get one. That is good because it means that we definitely will get one next year. The new Sony Reader PRS T1 aroused our interest. The reader will be available in Germany next month.